1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a stowable vehicle seat and a method of manufacturing a stowable vehicle seat. More specifically, the stowable seat includes a bottom assembly forming the lower portion of a vehicle seat, and a rear assembly forming the back portion of the vehicle seat suitable for stowing in a depression of a vehicle floor.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicles are manufactured in a variety of body configurations including economy cars, mid-size cars, sport coupes, vans, all terrain vehicles, pick-ups to name a few. Regardless of body configuration the vehicle operator may desire additional interior cargo room. A number of approaches have been taken to provide this additional cargo room by providing flexible seat designs. Seats can be detached from the vehicle to create additional cargo space, seats can be move forward to create additional cargo space, or folded. Generally however, seat designs remain bulky. Seats are not easily removed from the vehicle. Seats that move forward within the vehicle still occupy precious interior space. Seats that fold remain bulky and only free upper space within the vehicle. In addition, space is typically not available to receive a folded seat in a vehicle floor due to limited package space due to driveline position and suspension travel.
The stowable seat assembly of the present invention includes a bottom assembly and a rear assembly. In the assemble configuration, the bottom assembly forms the lower portion of a seat and the rear assembly forms the back of a seat. In the stowed configuration, the bottom assembly and rear assembly are uncoupled, each folding to form a substantially flat subassembly easily stowed and fixed against a vehicle floor adjacent one another.
The bottom assembly includes a front support and a bottom frame which together act as a stowable subassembly. The front support is suitable for attaching to a vehicle floor in order to pivot between a substantially upright support position and a substantially horizontal stowed position. The bottom frame is attached to the front support and can in turn pivot between a seat position and a ready-to-stow position. When the front support is in the support position, the bottom frame can be allowed to pivot from the substantially horizontal seat position to the substantially upright ready-to-stow position where it aligns with the front support and xe2x80x9clocksxe2x80x9d into place relative to the front support. In this intermediate configuration, the front support and the bottom frame form a substantially upright flat ready-to stow subassembly. In response to the bottom frame being placed in the ready-to-stow position, the front support is allowed to pivot to the stowed position. Once in the stowed position, the front support and bottom frame form a substantially horizontal flat configuration. The bottom assembly can thus be easily stowed and fixed against the vehicle floor or within a depression in a vehicle floor in order to prevent movement relative to the vehicle floor.
The rear assembly includes a rear support and a rear frame which together act as a stowable subassembly. The rear support is suitable for being attached to a vehicle floor in order to pivot between a substantially upright support position and a substantially horizontal stowed position. The rear frame is pivotally attached to the rear support. The rear frame can in turn pivot between a seat-back position and a ready-to-stow position where it aligns with the rear support and xe2x80x9clocksxe2x80x9d into place relative to the rear support. In this intermediate configuration, the rear support and the rear frame form a substantially upright flat ready-to-stow configuration. In response to the rear frame being pivoted from the seat-back position to the ready-to-stow position, the rear support is allowed to pivot to the stowed position. Once in the stowed position, the rear support and rear frame form a substantially horizontal flat configuration. The rear assembly can thus be easily stowed and fixed against the vehicle floor or within a depression in a vehicle floor in order to prevent movement relative to the vehicle floor.
According to one embodiment of the rear assembly, the rear frame additionally includes a telescoping assembly capable of telescoping between an extended position and a retracted position. This allows the rear frame to be reduced in size prior to placing the rear frame in the ready-to-stow position.
The detailed description, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention and specific examples, is intended for purposes of illustration only. Variations and modifications within the scope and spirit of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.